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As you can see Gonzaga was clearly out after the 3rd elbow. The 4th one was close and the last 2 were to the back of the head but that was because Gonzaga's unconcious head fell down so it was directly in the path of Browne's elbows.

Browne probably should have stopped when Gonzaga went limp but the ref could have been a little quicker as well.

They describe it as: If you are wearing headphones, it's anywhere behind them. All but one elbow in the flurry counts as illegal.

Doesn't matter if the KO ones were legal anyway. The rules are for fighter safety, not to determine who wins and loses. Browne executed several dangerous illegal moves and should be penalized.

Wrong, the definition as per the NSAC website states the following.

"No direct striking attacks are allowed to the spine or the back of the head. A direct strike is an aimed and executed attack to the area. The back of the head is considered the direct center of the head with 1’ inch of tolerance to either side."

All but the last 2 strikes were legal by their explanation due to area and the last 2 strikes are legal because Browne was intending to strike the side of Gonzaga's head but Gonzaga going unconscious caused his head to fall into a dangerous position.

"No direct striking attacks are allowed to the spine or the back of the head. A direct strike is an aimed and executed attack to the area. The back of the head is considered the direct center of the head with 1’ inch of tolerance to either side."

All but the last 2 strikes were legal by their explanation due to area and the last 2 strikes are legal because Browne was intending to strike the side of Gonzaga's head but Gonzaga going unconscious caused his head to fall into a dangerous position.

That's confusing as basically every source claims there's a compromised rule combining the Headphone standard and Mohawk Standard since 2009:

Quote:

Illegal Strikes to the Back of the Head

The Committee has found a compromise between the Mohawk definition and the headphones definition. The Committee recommends a nape of the neck definition. Basically, the group concluded that a strike that touches the ear is generally acceptable. Strikes are not permissible in the nape of the neck area up until the top of the ears. Above the ears, permissible strikes do not include the Mohawk area from the top of the ears up until the crown of the head. The crown of the head is found where the head begins to curve. In other words, strikes behind the crown of the head and above the ears are not permissible within the Mohawk area. Strikes below the top of the ear are not permissible within the nape of the neck area.

Herb Dean also claims the Headphone standard:

Quote:

“Ears back is considered the back of the head,” said Dean. “Like if you’re wearing headphones and they’re going up over the top of the head, so anything that’s behind the ears would be the foul area… It can be on the side of the head, but if it’s behind the ears it’s considered the back of the head.”

“That’s something we’ve only been enforcing in MMA as the back of the head for about the last two years.[article from 2008] That started when MMA became legalized in California,” Dean explained. “Dr. Paul Wallace came to a referee seminar that we were doing and explained to us, diagrammed and explained to us what is supposed to be the back of the head. I talked to him in detail about it and then I talked to Armando Garcia, who is executive director, and he said, ‘that’s what we want to be enforced for the back of the head, from the ears back.’”